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Friday, November 30, 2012

Don't you just love shopping second hand. I always hit the game section of Goodwill. I never know what cool board game I will find. And I was not disappointed my last trip....Enter The Scrabble Alphabet Game. This game allows you to have site words that you are collecting letters to spell out. I switched out the game cards for our actual sight words for review.

Lydia really likes this game....and it was only $2.00!!

She did two separate projects for Science this week. One involved friction. First she watches the explanation on Hooked on Science. This the egg in a bottle experiment.

New way to separate eggs!!! After 4 times I made her stop...she was wasting eggs. She really liked this and now she wants to try other ways to see if the yolk will separate. She came up with a list of barely cooked, partially cooked, and fully cooked. So I will indulge her next week, because the longer she cooks the egg the more friction she will create.

Brayden had basketball this week. The short season begins.

Lydia went ice skating with some of her friends. She LOVES ice skating. Probably let her do classes in January again. I am trying to balance her ever growing love of sports and activities.

Her other science experiment this week was about rust. She experimented to see if salt water would rust a steel wool quicker than regular water. I don't think she got enough salt in the water. It rusted only slightly.

But it rusted.

We had LEGO Club this week where the theme was Pilgrims and Thanksgiving.

The kiddos built some great projects.

Right after LEGO Club is the Adventure Club for Boys. The sisters are enjoying sitting in on this too. This month we had read about John Smith. They practiced archery.

We made bows and arrows with paper clips. One mom suggested adjusting the design by bending down the top clips so the rubber band doesn't fly off every time.

They also made hats. Lydia loved hers.

Lydia and Caty did some watercolor with white crayons.

Joey watched this great video on the atmosphere to go with his weather project.

Lydia and I did a lot of schoolwork in the middle of the living room floor. She is watching a Brain Pop Jr. video on Science here. She watched the one on Physical/Chemical Changes and the one on Forces and Motion to go with her Science this week.

We continued our Primary Arts of Reading course.

Joey had two experiments this week. We are watching one on water evaporating in the sun (not going great this week) and this one was supposed to show war air rising. It raised slightly. So he got the idea.

Brayden hid out most of the week. He is doing basics, and I am grateful he is doing that much. Caty also hid out this week....next week I am making adjustments to separate her school from Lydia more. She doesn't enjoy it as much, unless it's one-on-one. So she will do lessons 2 days a week for about 2 hours throughout the day (with lots of breaks) and art projects to go with the lessons the other 2 days. It will be a work in progress.

Linking up with other homeschool moms at No Ordinary Blog Hop. See what is working or not working for other moms right now!! Find recipes and project ideas. Maybe another mom is experiencing the same troubles you might be right now. There is a ton of support and encouragement with this group.....don't miss out!!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

I kind of went on a blogging break. I felt massive brain fog. And also had some issues with my arm. So I took a week off. We also took the week off from school, a little bit unplanned. We still had Art class, and watched educational television.

I am working on getting the last half of our educational year planned. Of course there has been quite a few changes, so that is why I am working at planning out the new adjustments. I love that as homeschoolers we can make changes as we need to help our children get the best education as possible. But sometimes I feel like there is always a constant adjustment in our house. And that can be considered a part time job just planning and printing.

I also am working on a month long menu, instead of just a week. I am hoping this will help save me some time also. I made it while watching TV one night and then I figure I'll make my grocery list then the evening before I plan on going to the store. Do any of you visit superstores like Costco? Is it worth the money for the membership? I am considering it, but with the large amount of allergen foods we purchase I wasn't sure if it would work for us. The one thing I do know.....I need to start buying food in bulk. The kids seem to be eating constantly!! And they are not even teenagers yet.

In our homeschool this week....

Brayden actually done his work this week. He did start a new med. And it seems to be working, because he even went to basketball practice....no complaints! Oh yeah, and he actually participated!

Lydia had fun doing Science experiments this week. We are going to change a few things around do some of these experiments for a few weeks. Of course it's not just the experiment, but learning why the results happen or don't happen the way we guess they will. If you haven't checked out Hooked on Science....I recommend them. It's been fun!

Joey had a pretty uneventful week. He did his schoolwork. This week was the start of his weather unit in Science. He's going to learn about weather for the next couple weeks in preparation for our Meet the Meteorologist Homeschool event in January. A local TV Meteorologist will be giving a program to our homeschool group. I am more excited than Joey, but it's going to be fun! He did have cheerleading practice and did very well. He doesn't enjoy running, and has trouble sometimes with it. So the cheerleading thing seems to be a good fit for him.

Caty loved Starfall this week. She is learning new songs, and it's so cute as she goes around singing them. I really love that it teaches place value! Seriously, and she is kind of getting it. She recognizes a few words here and there also. Next week, we'll be adding some more structure for her.

Question I have.....

To anyone out there that meal plans, do you have a set meal plan that you rotate or do you come up with a unique one each month with family favorites thrown in?What I am reading.....

One for fun and one for insight. The Dave Ramsey book was recommended to me. We don't have credit card debt, just medical debt. So thought I would see if he offers some tips that could help us get it paid off.

What I have been cooking....

I made gingersnap cookies for the first time. I have missed them. They were gluten and dairy free. They turned out soooo good!! Even my hubby enjoyed them, and he doesn't usually get very excited about dessert. I used the crock pot this week a couple times. I made a beef chili which was a make it up as I went recipe. It turned out so good that even Lydia was asking for seconds. Of course the other kids wouldn't touch it because I put beans in it. Their loss though! I am writing it down though because it was a different creation for me. I also made some homemade tomato soup to go with some grilled cheese sammies......it was yummy too. It felt like a comfort food week. Last week I didn't cook much, I wasn't feeling well and my arm was killing me.

Favorite pic and moment this week.....

And the shot was Good!!!!!

I am linking up with other homeschool mothers at Homeschool Mother's Journal. Be sure to watch for our Week in Review picture post. A couple great science experiments this week!!!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

It has been another tough week to remain positive. I feel like a drowning fish.....But I just keep swimming, swimming....swimming. LOL!!!

I have been trying to be positive this week. I have been trying not to raise my voice too much. Because raising your voice when dealing with kids with sensory issues is kind of like trying to freeze water while it is boiling...it's just not going to happen.

The boys did have med checks this week, and we have to do some med adjustments for Brayden. Also had a brief discussion with the doc about some other issues with the girls. So basically we will eventually end up with an hour block of his time once a month. Yippeeee.....my suspicions may be more accurate than I would like them to be. So now we are in wait and see mode. And we just deal with whatever wave of emotion that comes our way.

Lydia hurt her foot pretty bad. So we have been changing a lot of bandages, and she has been limping alot. She sliced 3 of her toes open on her foot. She missed gymnastics, but was able to dance her recital....with a bit of a limp. It happened Monday night, but she seems to be healing well. By bandage change today, I can see a huge improvement. We are going to start stage 2 of treatment which includes clove oil.

In our homeschool this week....

We actually accomplished quite a bit. Caty has been working on her 'F' sounds by playing a game that I printed from Speech Therapy Ideas. I am liking this website a lot, and plan to get some more games ready for Caty...as well as Lydia and Brayden. Caty is loving playing on More Starfall.com. I am happy that she is doing so well in the Math on there. She and I sat down a couple times this week playing on the game together.

Joey and Brayden finished another unit in their Dayspring Christian Academy Pilgrim study. This has been a wonderful historical study. This week the Pilgrims have finally arrived in America. Joey and I are working on building a Pilgrim home from popsicle sticks.

Lydia had zoo class this week and also Girl Scouts. Our troop worked on blankets to donate to Project Linus. So Lydia and I are working on two quilts, in addition to the one that she was doing at the meeting. We were feeling inspired by the Quilting Queen that came and was showing us all the fun types of quilts that you can make. We also decided we are going to learn how to crochet. I already know basic stitches and can do a quilt that way. But I cannot read a pattern. So we found a great set with a DVD on how to read patterns. We are going to start next week.

What I have been cooking....

On Tuesday we made a big family meal to go with the book Cranberry Thanksgiving. We made pumpkin pie custard, baked chicken, hm gluten free stuffing, hm cranberry relish, cranberry orange bread and pecan sweet potatoes. It took all afternoon to finish. But was sooooo very yummy. We actually baked the bread for the stuffing...yummy!!! Made chicken and dumplings also. We didn't starve this week.lol. We also made Belize Stewed chicken with rice and beans to go with our American Girl book Jess.

What I have been reading....

The Bible....I am trying really hard to read the entire Bible. Small, small chunks. It never fails that as soon as I start reading, someone fights or screams or wakes up in the morning. Go figure...lol

I also have decided to force myself to read, something other than the kids books. I used to love to read, but just get too busy, so then I feel too tired. To get me started again I saw a poster about reading books from all 50 states. But some of those titles really looked something I wouldn't enjoy, so I found this list also. I will be starting with Alabama this upcoming week...with Alabama Moon.

What is not working for us.....

I am not in love with Caty's speech therapy team. So since in our state, she will be pushed toward public school when she turns 5 in a couple months....I am taking on another task of working speech therapy into her schedule. I found this site Speech Therapy Ideas the other day....and LOVE it!!! These games are exactly what her speech therapist does with her. So I printed her first one and laminated it. We changed up her letters and books we are reading to help center a bit around whatever sound we are working on...which currently is "F". I will change up a little next week, so we are still moving forward in our alphabet. But we will still read the "F" Alphatales book when we are doing that for speech therapy. Trying to be proactive....if you don't like it, then change it.

Pictures from our week....

While Lydia was at zoo class, Caty and I explored. They have some new things in Nature's Neighborhood. The computer actually takes a photo of the child and then puts it in the picture they are coloring.

We went to a Family Carnival that was held by our Special Olympics Booster club. Lydia and I volunteered to do things such as run games and pass out tickets for the raffle. Lydia won one of the movie bags....she was so excited to win Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Helping to clean up the golf game.

3 of our 4 cat rushing to eat before another could take a bite....it was rather comical.

We filled a bowl with water. Used the peppermint patties to hold the matches. Lit the matches and then covered them with the cup.

The suction was created and the water vacuumed up into the glass. We could hear the suction noise!

We did add some food coloring to some of the water, we could see the water better in the cup then.

For our Five in a Row this week, we read Cranberry Thanksgiving. We made a big family meal of baked chicken, hm gluten free stuffing, hm cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes with honey and pecans.

We also made Cranberry Orange Bread from the book.

We did cranberry experiments and learned about the 4 hollow chambers that cranberries have that allow them to float.

And we tested to see if they could bounce, and how high!

Lydia also watched these Curiosity Quest segments on cranberries.

This is Lydia working on her Project Linus quilt at scouts.

The start of our Project Linus Quilt. Hope to finish this week, but we'll wait and see. We also have some Elmo and Dora material. We'll see how the week takes us. We might get 3 done, but I am doubtful.

Lydia practicing her violin, until the cat came in.

Our bird seed just keeps growing. So we were able to have a discussion about how birds transfer plants when they are eating the seeds...lol.

Aren't the pony beads so pretty....we're at co-op. They did bracelets with these to remember the story of the Pilgrims. We are learning about George Henry Boughton and the painting Pilgrims (Puritans) go to Church.

Joey continued to read about John Smith for Adventure Club. But he also started working on Argentina for World Travelers. This week we will look at the book and pick out a topic for him to research.

Lydia worked on coin recognition this week, next week we will work more on adding coins. There is a great BrainPopJr. video on counting/adding money that we will review again.

Here's some of Caty's work this week...

Her Scholastic mags that we read together. I love these because each one has a short kids video on the theme. There are games they can play also. We are really liking these this year!!!

Our letter this week was F, because this is a sound that she needs to work on for speech therapy. We used Erica's Alphabet block patterns and read these books to go with our letter.

Here's the F sound game we were playing. I found this at Speech Therapy Ideas. This is a great site and I recommend it!!!

Lydia at the zoo. We walked quickly through Tembo Trail on our way out of the zoo. It was a nice little walk between activities. We were able to see the elephants, rhinoceros and the hippos. Oh and the lions! The meerkats and camels were not out...oh my! Maybe next time.
Hope everyone had a wonderful week. We are looking forward to a bit of a down week next week. Art class and some projects and we are going to play catch up on book activities for American Girl Club and Adventure Club.
Linking up with other moms at